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How Some Mother Birds Leave The Parenting To Others
Posted on Friday, May 10, 2013 by eNature
Cliff Swallow
Cliff Swallow
© Don DeBold

How many parents have longed to leave raising an obstreperous child to some other person….  For some birds, it actually happens.

Cliff Swallows are colonial—that is, they nest in colonies, sometimes numbering in the thousands of birds. In many ways the members of a colony appear to display remarkable social cohesiveness. They work together to mob predators and will even learn from each other where the good food sources are.

But if you look closely at a Cliff Swallow colony, you’ll see that this seemingly cooperative community also harbors its share of dastardly misbehavior.  Or is it actually a smart way to parent?

In every colony there are a few swallows (you might call them bad eggs) that parasitize their neighbors. They do this not by sucking other swallows’ blood or stealing food, but by putting their eggs in nests other than their own. Sometimes the sneaky swallow will even toss out one of the nest owner’s eggs before laying her egg in its place! This behavior is known as brood parasitism. The extra eggs go undetected, and the surrogate parents end up doing the work of raising the slacker’s young.

These parasitic egg-laying visits are clandestine and quick, but some Cliff Swallows have been spotted launching an even faster, more remarkable sneak attack: carrying eggs in their very small beaks (adapted for catching tiny insects on the wing) and quickly dropping them into a neighbor’s nest.

Incoming!

Learn more about Cliff Swallow in the eNature Field Guide »

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Posted by MypeTeene on 5/11

I am in Northern Nova Scotia and for the first time this spring I have barn swallows (I think). Unusual or NOT????

Posted by Lee Martin on 5/11

We have barn swallows that nest on our eaves every year. They are wonderful parents that are diligent in keeping their eggs and peeps warm in cold weather and feeding them consistently. Some raise as many as three broods each year. Last year 8 sets of parents raised more than 45 chicks. They make a mess, of course, but we are honored to tolerate and welcome them to our home. They are a joy to watch in flight and and hear their chirping.

Posted by allen guisinger on 5/11

I have always said that if I were ever to be reincarnated, I would like to come back as a Barn Swallow.  I love to watch their aerobatic flight.

This article appeared to address Cliff Swallows not Barn Swallows

Posted by Monty Curtis on 5/11

Brown-headed cowbirds always lay their eggs in someone else’s nest. Talk about lazy parents.

Posted by Kim Jarvis on 5/11

I am amazed, when I watch swallows in flight. They hone in on an insect and fly after it until they catch it. And there can be dozens of them in the air at the same time—they never collide. They are amazing birds!

Posted by Patricia Nipper on 5/11

Barn swallows are wonderful parents.  One year the nest fell down, I rescued the 4 babies, put them in a little basket and nailed it back in the spot where the nest was.  Mom was very upset and for about an hour she flew around while the babies were howling to be fed.  She finally gave up and started feeding them.  When that batch left she built another nest just above the basket.  I guess she figured if it fell they would land in the basket.  Any way she raised two more batches that year.

Posted by Bee Faith on 5/11

Subject line says “Barn Swallows,” but your story is about Cliff Swallows!  Barn Swallows are actually wonderful parents—both the male and female taking turns feeding and sitting on the nest. They don’t deserve a bad name!!  ;^)

Posted by gracecan on 5/11

right up there with cowbirds aren’t they?

Posted by emily on 5/11

We get yearly Barn Swallows in our barn.  We leave the doors open for them.  They are a joy!  They chatter to each other a lot.  The fly like acrobats.  They send out scouts in early spring then go alert the others.  They are awesome!

I worry each year that they will make it back, as they go so far away.  Love them!

Posted by Mulberry Bank on 5/11

We always barn swallows build their nests in the barn. There is a pond about 60 feet from the barn so that made it convenient for the birds. One year, a swallow built its nest at the back porch on a 2x4 and raised its family there. It came back the following year and dad grew tired of the poop on the cement porch, had plywood installed to close off the beams. I would had have left it the way it was. We thought it was really neat that they built a nest that close to the main door in and out of the house. But for some reason, there’s not been any swallows back in past 15 years.

Posted by Michael on 5/11

We’ve had barn swallows on our front porch rails up next to the ceiling for the past several years. They raise several hatchings and we never see a mosquito while they’re here!  And they come on almost the exact same day every year and leave on almost the same day, too.  Amazing birds!  When they first came, they’re so messy that we thought we could scare them off with a fake snake up on the rail…they built a nest right over the top of it!!  And they DO take good care of their babies, too!

Posted by Sylvia on 5/11

Any chance there are citations for this assertion?

Paul

Posted by Paul on 5/11

Barn swallows as well as their relatives, cliff and tree swallows are the most looked-forward-to-returning birds on the farm each year. We have a fraction of the flies many of our neighbors suffer all due to hundreds of swallows having free access to nest everywhere, especially the many old barns,  on our organic farm. They have figured out where the healthy insects live! Even our house up on a hill in the open has no flies all summer, while cluster flies decend upon us in big numbers when the birds leave in the fall.  They seem to respond to being addressed positively and I always thank them for returning being relieved that some ecological disaster in south America has not killed them.
They make the joy of summer possible.

Posted by peggy conroy on 5/12

I have watched Barn swallow nests for years and found them to be exemplary parents. I am not that familiar with Cliff swallows they may be the ones you are talking about.

Posted by Marc Severson on 5/12

One year, barn swallows built a nest way at the top of our corrugated tin barn.  When the temps got to 100 degrees outside…and probably worse up there…my husband rigged a fan to blow some air onto the babies and crawled onto the outside roof to nail a board across the nest area and shade it.  They all made it without frying!!

Posted by Rosemary Arhart on 5/14
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